Join Us in Sacramento to Save Our Christian Higher Ed!

The California Legislature is back in session and SB 1146 is on the move. The bill was moved to the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file without testimony on August 3. It will either be voted out of the committee or be permanently held in suspense on August 11. If the bill is held, it will die. If it’s voted out, SB 1146 could conceivably be on the Assembly floor as early as August 15!

Pray: This battle is against more than flesh and blood. Cry out to the Lord for hearts and minds to be changed. Ask Him to move our lawmakers to see the wonderful work our faith-based colleges and universities do for the students in our state and protect them from this threat. For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. ~ Psalm 84:11

Act:
1) Join us at the Capitol! We will convene to lobby legislative offices at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 11. Our friends at California Family Alliance (CFA) and a group of pastors are organizing this event. Please RSVP to Jonathan Keller at [email protected], so we know you are planning to join the effort and can give you the meeting location. (Note: There is another lobby day on Monday, August 8, if that date is better for you. Please indicate which day you will be at the Capitol in your e-mail to Jonathan.)
2) Please continue to contact the Assembly Appropriations members (see list below), asking politely that they oppose SB 1146 and allow our low-income students to follow their faith and attend the college of their choice.
3) Call your assembly member and ask him or her to oppose SB 1146. (Find your assembly member here.)
4) Share this e-mail and the website opposesb1146.com with others. The site was created by Biola University, one of the schools on the forefront of this battle. It contains action items, talking points and even a sample letter to help you.

The most recent amendments to SB 1146 have clarified that the bill does, indeed, affect Cal Grants, limiting the choices of the state’s lower-income students – potentially some 25 percent of the student population at faith-based schools. Not only will students be unable to obtain their education at the schools they most desire, but also those very schools may not survive the drastic cut in enrollment.

To avoid losing Cal Grants students, schools would be forced to abandon many of their Biblical tenets, particularly in terms of student housing. Dorm, restroom, and locker room accommodations would be based on gender identity, rather than biological sex. Married housing would have to include same-sex couples.

Student life and the whole campus environment make faith-based institutions what they are and under current law there have been very few complaints. Students who prefer a different campus environment have hundreds of other schools in the state from which to choose. We are asking that freedom of choice be available for all Christian students who desire a pervasively Christian environment, too!

Other elements of the bill involve notification requirements, the majority of which are not of great concern. Students should know the type of school to which they are applying – and most campuses are already very open about their Biblical foundations.